The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

In Okoye’s debut novel, a
successful but unfulfilled lawyer turns to Christianity to find meaning.

This modern-day parable, set in
London, follows a familiar narrative arc. John Williams is a successful
solicitor at the prestigious law firm Malone and Malone, where he’s on track to
make partner for his work defending corporate interests. But as his career has
flourished, his personal life has floundered; his marriage of 20 years is dead,
and he has a poor relationship with his children. As a result, he constantly battles a feeling of emptiness, which
he suppresses with alcohol, infidelity, and fancy cars. His personal and
professional interests come into conflict when he’s assigned a case
representing a high-profile oil magnate who perpetrated a hit-and-run; it turns
out that the victim, a 20-something man named Toby, has a mysterious connection to John. As John negotiates
between his obligations to his firm and his personal sense of responsibility to
Toby, his home life shows signs of further degradation. Then John’s friend Ike
steps in to introduce him to Christianity. After Ike brings him to a few church
services, John is so moved by a sermon that he instantly, devoutly adopts
religion. Still, it may be too late: his wife, Amy, is preparing to leave him,
and the distance between him and his children seems too large to bridge. Okoye
sets this up as the novel’s central problem: will John’s newfound faith survive
the collapse of life as he knows it? However, the author struggles to maintain
this tension evenly throughout the novel. The story states its conflicts
succinctly rather than exploring them in depth, and at no point do readers
question that John will ultimately pull through. As such, the minor characters
often provide more compelling drama; Amy is the strongest, and her ambivalence
about continuing her marriage provides the most authentic emotions in the book.
One wishes that her internal struggle had received as much attention as John’s
does or that his struggle was as compelling as hers.

A slow-moving story about how
religion can rapidly and completely transform a person’s life.

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